Company with a great culture or a slightly higher paycheck? 6 points to help you decide

Interviews are hard work even for an expert in his field. Once you're done with these and have landed some job offers for yourself, you'll be faced with the challenge of choosing which offer to accept. This choice, trust me, is not an easy one normally. While many of us think the one with the fattest paycheck should make the cut, we forget that we still need to work that job for a considerable time period and there will be other factors at play during that time. So to avoid a unpleasant time at work in the coming future, you need to pay close attention to the following points.

1. Money is important, and definitely is one major reason to switch jobs. We have already established that, but you need to scrutinize the details of the pay package and the other perks. Normally the higher pay-check does have some strings attached which people do not pay attention to like variable components which will be given after you've completed a specified time with the company. Do check out the monthly take-home and the insurance coverages. Also don't forget to ask questions about the tax saving options provided by the company. Normally the HR is happy to answer such questions so don't hesitate.

2. Company vision and plans of scaling. I assume you did some research about the companies before getting involved in the recruitment process and you do know about what their immediate and long term goals are and what are their plans on scaling. If not then it wouldn't hurt to do so now. You need to be sure of what are you getting into and how can you make a difference. Also such research will give you an insight into what kind of a journey you can expect and how long could that last.

3. Job profile. Nothing's more important than knowing what you are going to do day on day for the next few years. While the designation does give away quite a bit of it, you need to clarify exactly what is expected of you. On comparable pay-checks you would really want to have an exciting role rather than a mundane one.

4. Company reviews. As I said you need to be sure of what you are getting into. The company reviews are too important to ignore in today's world. Take a look at the company’s Glassdoor rating and reviews by current and ex employees You should definitely look out for the parts which talk about the work life balance, politics at work and focus on employee trainings/development. If the company is rated good on these areas, you should have a clear winner.

5. Profile of the leadership team. A lot of people would wonder how does the leadership team affect your decision. It's really important since creating new leaders is a clear trademark of a good leader and if the leaders of the company have been instrumental in creating/mentoring new leaders then it would reflect in the company's culture and most of your to-be colleagues. The people in the company would not refrain from sharing knowledge and creating a healthy working environment.

6. HR and support functions. This one is not the most important item on the menu but definitely an added advantage in case you have a tie amongst some of your choices. Good companies let the employees focus just on their work, taking care of all their chores in an effective manner. They are mindful of the fact that the employee should never feel that he has to run pillar to post for even small things like the mobile bill reimbursement.

While each one of you have their specific expectations, most of the above points will actually define how enjoyable your tenure at your new job will be.